Professional doctorate programmes have recently emerged around the globe as an alternative to the more traditional research based doctoral programmes and have expanded rapidly to the point where professional doctorates are now the dominant form of doctorate education. This paper aims to shed some light on the growth of professional doctorates and to make some comparisons of professional doctorate programmes with traditional research based doctorate programmes by reporting on research undertaken in Australia. The research demonstrates confusion in the discipline of doctorates globally.
The research includes a case study on a globally significant Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) programme to demonstrate how professional doctorates are impacting on what might be regarded as more traditional doctorate programmes and causing confusion in the market place. Issues and observations arising from the research are discussed. A conclusion reached is that it may be time for Australian universities to consider establishing a new advanced higher research degree that clearly differentiates university research of a very high standard from other research.